


Bedlam

by CleotheDreamer



Series: Unrelated Poetry Collection [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Original Work
Genre: F/M, Madness, Poetry, freestyle poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 18:57:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20511896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CleotheDreamer/pseuds/CleotheDreamer
Summary: A poem about madness and its various effects.(Can be read with Joker and Harley Quinn's relationship in mind, but can be read alone as well.)





	Bedlam

**Author's Note:**

> If you've ever heard the term bedlam you'd know it refers to a lot of things in regards to madness, senility, mental illness, etc. But, the term originally comes from an anonymous poem titled 'Tom o' Bedlam' written in 1720 about people who faked being mentally ill to gain sympathy while they were homeless. It gained popularity and was adapted in a song called 'Mad Maudlin's Search' where the term 'Bedlam' began to gain a meaning in describing the senile. As of today, it has turned into a term for mental institutions and 'a scene of uproar and confusion'.
> 
> I highly recommend reading 'Tom o' Bedlam', but it isn't necessary for this poem. Only the above text would be helpful to read.

They twirl and they whirl  
In a dance of craz-ed forms  
They fill themselves with plunder  
And fling themselves to storms  
From nighttime dangling dashes  
To terror shadowed sleep  
As the music sings a lullaby  
A lyrical of pure white sheep  
But sheep can’t remain un-slaughtered  
With unbloodied and unburdened coats  
So watch as crimson splatters  
Onto your barren throats  
Sneaking out of pulsing veins  
Like rancid holy water  
It withers and it tames  
And, scalding, stains the altar  
Of holy heaven waiting  
And of dreams to reach its tiers  
These tongues will stay debating  
Birthing religious overseers  
The atheist among them and the devout who walk below  
They whither and they tither and they set their brows aglow  
In learning and in faith  
In learning to debate  
Their heads all filled with memories  
Pick out which fate to make  
But twirling they stumble  
Dancing on unsteady feet  
Through falls and through tumbles  
As clumsy clatters heave their chests  
Of these reimagined humans  
And their hopeful wanting eyes  
We can only do our best  
For you happy little humans  
Know that happiness never lasts  
And this fall into senility  
This descent into the gloom  
Is like glorious wing-ed angels  
Ever reaching in its plume  
Because faith is but a concept  
A petty attempt at control  
And a broken form of comfort  
Laying cold upon the soul  
And faith could never reach you  
These heavy twisted youths  
So sink yourself in drink  
For Bedlam found it’s proof

**Author's Note:**

> Harley and Joker are insane, let's be honest. Nothing about them is healthy, though this can be interpreted in so many ways.


End file.
